Which municipal district has the largest constituency? [more inside]
posted by Weebot on Aug 16, 2009 - 10 answers

Can a former US President serve in a powerful capacity in a subsequent administration? They clearly wouldn't be able to serve as VP, but could they hold some other high office such as Secretary of State? If not, do those of you living in the US regard this as a desirable or undesirable attribute of your political system?
posted by Lolie on Jun 27, 2009 - 18 answers

Who were these "celebrated authors" James Madison was referring to in The Federalist Paper No. 14? [more inside]
posted by Myles on Jun 15, 2009 - 8 answers

What country or countries have the longest continuously functioning government? Please specify the type/form of government, such as US/ democratic republic.
posted by woman on May 31, 2009 - 14 answers

I'm looking for recommendations on readings about what is the purpose of government - preferably from all areas of the spectrum: reactionary, conservative, libertarian, socialist, communist, liberal, radical. Ideally I'm looking for the fundamental/foundational documents for each doctrine as opposed to filtered, watered down versions. Thanks!
posted by Leezie on May 10, 2009 - 13 answers

Tips for a newbie delegate to a political convention? I agreed to act not only as a Democrat delegate but as a vice-chair for my precinct. Our county organizing convention is coming up this weekend. I've read a tiny bit about what to expect on the agenda (but not a lot), but am more worried about just seeming out of place. I'm young, don't have a lot of political experience, and also had to change my affiliation from unaffiliated to do this. Part of me says that in a state where Democrats are a minority no one will be judging me for wanting to serve, but what can you tell me (or links can you give me...) to better prepare me? I'm looking for both what I should know about how it'll run and the more nuanced aspects of interaction/networking/flow.
posted by anonymous on Apr 15, 2009 - 5 answers

Why Can't We Allocate Where Our Taxes Go on Our Tax Form? [more inside]
posted by The ____ of Justice on Mar 18, 2009 - 16 answers

Can anyone recommend any funny novels about government and politics? [more inside]
posted by Myles on Dec 27, 2008 - 31 answers

PoliticsLawFilter: Dick Cheney's lawyer, David Addington, wrote a series of papers/statements/memos that ostensibly change an existing law. How can one lawyer, or even a team of lawyers, change a law by simply writing a memo? Is this even possible? [more inside]
posted by zardoz on Dec 21, 2008 - 16 answers

I'm looking for a listing, preferably something with citations of the actual state laws, of when each state changed it's laws to allow for the direct election of electors in the electoral college.
posted by phrontist on Oct 22, 2008 - 1 answer

What are the specific tax loopholes that Obama intends to close, and how much money does each of those 'loopholes' account for? This article by FactCheck.org indicates that the Obama campaign estimates the revenue from tax reform at $80 billion - so where did that figure come from?
posted by mattholomew on Sep 4, 2008 - 3 answers

Can anyone tell me the percentage of children of illegal immigrants who attend college? Specifically in Texas. We are arguing the HB 104 (in state tuition bill) in my government class and I need to know how many children of illegal immigrants who were not born in the US actually attend institutions of higher education....
posted by madmamasmith on Mar 22, 2008 - 12 answers

How should government change the way it provides services in response to the technological revolution happening around us? [more inside]
posted by baggymp on Mar 7, 2008 - 15 answers

Can you think of any examples of "jawboning" from history? [more inside]
posted by yesno on Mar 6, 2008 - 4 answers

Why is the presidential administration working so persistently to bequeath extra powers to their likely Democrat successors? [more inside]
posted by jimmyjimjim on Jul 5, 2007 - 31 answers

I visited a public middle school, and it was filled with roaches, is there anything positive I could do for those kids? [more inside]
posted by ceberon on Jun 12, 2007 - 14 answers

How does one unregister to vote? [more inside]
posted by ZachsMind on May 29, 2007 - 20 answers

So there's this movie that I saw when I was a kid, but don't know what it was called... [more inside]
posted by kisch mokusch on Apr 2, 2007 - 4 answers

What law would be really good for a state legislature to pass or repeal? This is a practical question, seeking practical answers: I have a friend who is a good-government, reform-minded state legislator who is looking for suggestions, but the deadline for filing in this part-time legislature is one week away for the biennium (two-year period).
posted by Mr. Justice on Feb 25, 2007 - 33 answers

I have seen a couple trucks owned by the city (public works trucks) with magnetic signs advertising to "Vote No" on an upcoming proposed charter amendment. I have also seen a flashing sign owned by City Hall with the same message to "Vote No on Prop. 7". Isn't this illegal?
posted by LoriFLA on Oct 20, 2006 - 13 answers

Can you think of examples of a U.S. state government revoking a charter or other governance document for a local government body, such as a city or county? [more inside]
posted by gimonca on Jun 7, 2006 - 11 answers

Could a two-term President be elected/appointed to be the vice president? [more inside]
posted by blue_beetle on Apr 17, 2006 - 12 answers

Say that a (US) presidential administration was doing something it wasn't supposed to be doing. Could a future presidential administration find this out and prosecute the former administration's officials? [more inside]
posted by ontic on Mar 27, 2006 - 15 answers

I am looking for reasonably well-known websites that deal with government corruption. I live in the United States, so I have a particular interest in any US corruption, but I'm interested in other countries as well. Logically, it is easy to find information on corruption of countries we don't like, so I'm mainly looking for websites dealing with the US and its allies. (more info inside) if you know of any respected political websites that issue indepth reports on various things like human rights (Human Rights Watch for example) or that release declassified documents and memos not necessarily from the us, but the US is great too ( http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv for example) then tell me [more inside]
posted by VillainousJester on Dec 23, 2005 - 10 answers

The other day a few college - aged people came to my door (and everyone's in the nieghborhood) lobbying something political. I didnt talk to them but by dad said they made pretty good money doing that. Anyways, I am personally kind of obsessed with politics, and would be thrilled to have a job in the field of politics. My question is does anyone have suggestions on where to look or who to ask for a job? I am looking for a job that I can start right away, without any schooling etc. Something that doesnt take any special qualifications. [more inside]
posted by JokingClown on Dec 21, 2005 - 19 answers

With last nights government defeat in the House of Commons and the resultant hand-wringing on both sides of the 'civil-liberties vs security' debate, the quote that has been trotted out repeatedly is "Well if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear". Could anyone shed any light on the origin of this phrase? [more inside]
posted by mr_benn on Nov 9, 2005 - 15 answers

With the Dem's threatening to fillibuster Bush's new nomination for the Supreme Court, can Bush just wait until Christmas time when Congress takes a recess and install Alito with no confirmation vote? I have heard of similar things as an option in past political situations, and I'm assuming that somewhere in our 200+ year history something like this has been done. Unfortunately, I never really paid attention to the actual workings of the whole thing. What are the actual rules/laws as to what the President can do when Congress isn't in session. Specifically for the things Congress would 'normally' vote on or approve had they been in session.
posted by whoda on Nov 1, 2005 - 20 answers

I plan on running for a city council seat in a college town of 81,000 people. The election isn't until Spring, 2007. What can I do now to increase my chances of getting elected? [more inside]
posted by viewofdelft on Oct 17, 2005 - 17 answers

Today The Guardian published the group photograph of delegates to the World Summit at the UN. There is a key to who all these smiling faces are which is useful, except two gentlemen are listed simply as 'unidentified'. Would anybody like to take a guess as to who they are? [images inside] [more inside]
posted by feelinglistless on Sep 16, 2005 - 7 answers

I'm over 30 and probably know as much or less about history, politics/ gov, and current events as my 7 year old niece. Now, I want to be aware and don't know where to begin. I've tried just "merging in" but the references, terms, and names are lost on me. I need a starting point that will give me a framework or bird's eye view to start from and build on. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 24, 2005 - 27 answers

How accurate is this wikipedia article on China's state-run news agency?
posted by Tlogmer on Jun 24, 2005 - 4 answers

Curiosity struck and I'm looking for a year-by-year breakdown of the number of times the filibuster has been used. A chart with further breakdowns of senator, state, party, duration, cause, and whether the filibuster was ended via cloture would be even nicer. [more inside]
posted by rudyfink on May 17, 2005 - 7 answers

I am trying to find a list of staffers and the issues they focus on for specific U.S. Senators and Representatives. [more inside]
posted by ..ooOOoo....ooOOoo.. on Mar 21, 2005 - 5 answers

Out of curiousity (I'm not trying to be political), has it been the standard MO of popularly elected dictators, or any dictator, to tout the freedom of their people? Was the subject of liberty just ignored by leaders of Germany, Italy, Spain, et. al?
posted by borkingchikapa on Jan 21, 2005 - 13 answers

WhatAmIMissingFilter: I've been waiting for an optimum time to ask this on the main page in an appropriate thread, but the opportunity hasn't arisen. Thus: Exactly HOW is the government getting away with enforcing these so-called "free speech" zones? Allowing for reasonable public safety measures, it's still clearly at odds with the constitution. (I'm sure places like Planned Parenthood would dearly "love" to relocate protesters to a deserted roped-off area 6 blocks away.) Is it just that no one has called them on it yet?
posted by RavinDave on Jul 26, 2004 - 22 answers

Excuse my naiveté: is Bush vs. Kerry the first modern presidential contest between two members of the American equivalent of the aristocracy? Call them patricians, preppies, rich kids, "old money", members of the upper or property-owning class; whatever. What does this mean, if anything? It looks significant seen from old Europe. [Given that Kerry is, like the Kennedys, a Catholic, I suppose WASPs no longer mean much in this respect.]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Mar 2, 2004 - 23 answers